Part two of my busy family portrait weekend found me in Paxton, MA, with Martina, Rob, and Hayley capturing all of the fun they had together on an adventure at Moore State Park in Paxton, MA.

One of the best things about Moore State Park is the grist mill with the cascade of waterfalls that used to feed it, so that’s where we started the adventure, posing on and around the dams that fed water to the mill long ago. Then we walked up to a beautiful path through the woods, where the family walked the leaf-strewn byway together, before Hayley tried on her best little red riding hood impression. Next to the pathway, was a huge green hill, just begging to be climbed, and climb we did, envying the boundless energy that Hayley brought as she scaled the monster at a run. Coming down was a lot easier, and a stone wall at the bottom gave us all a place to rest before heading over to our final location: an old covered bridge on the banks of a picturesque lake. As we were finishing up, the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds to give our adventure its blessing.

It must be a pretty good life when you are a baby. You get to crawl around, chill out, have your meals brought to you, and nap whenever you are tired. No wonder Jake was so happy when I got to hang out with him and his family this weekend in Framingham and Sudbury, MA.

Jake was waiting to greet me at the door when I arrived at his Framingham home…in fact he was tasting the door. Once inside, we headed right up to Jake’s room, where he wasted no time in showing me all of his toys and his “Don’t Forget to be Awesome” print right next to his crib. After a book with Mom, we headed over to Mom and Dad’s bedroom, where the family cats were lured on the bed for a romp with Jake. Downstairs the entire family posed for a couple of photos, before heading into the back yard for a couple more. Once we’d explored the entire house together, we hopped into our cars for a short drive down to the historic grist mill in Sudbury, MA, where Jake showed how much he loved the fall, posing on rocks and under trees, in red doorways, and in front of a weathered barn before finishing up in a field of milkweed.

Whwn I met Adriana and Pierce in Boston for their engagement portrait session, their first words were, “Do you want to go get a beer before we start shooting?” I knew then that it was going to be a fantastic session!

After our opening refreshment, we headed up into the warren of alleys in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, finding a cobble stoned gem that gave the couple a little privacy to ease into the session. Once we broke the ice, we were ready to go, trying out a couple more alleys before heading up Charles Street proper, taking advantage of the vintage signs and the little off streets to provide a unique Boston background to our photos. We snuck into a Charles St dive bar, where Pierce had celebrated his 21st birthday without a second look from the Sunday afternoon patrons. At the end of the road, we found ourselves at the Boston Public Gardens, and took a moment for a few shouts in the iconic location. Then we hopped in the car, and headed to Congress St, where one of Adriana and Pierce’s favorite hangouts waited for us. It was a great bar where Pierce had made arrangements with the management, and we had full reign, with the happy couple taking turns behind the bar to mix each other drinks. We gave the personalized drinks time to chill, while we headed outside for a few South Boston scenes before we parted ways for the evening.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet baby AJ in Boston’s Back Bay. He showed me all around the neigborhood, and I’ve never had a cuter host!

I met at the family apartment, and AJ wasted no time in showing me his room (well, after he sussed me out for a bit on the shoulder of his Mom). We had a great time playing with blocks, and trying on a few hats. The living room was out next stop, with AJ cuddling some more with Mom, and walking all over the place. Then he and Dad showed me the awesome view from the high rise balcony. Being outside inspired us to head downstairs for a bit of a walk. We started out in the garden of AJ’s apartment building, before heading up Boylston street, stopping at Gucci, where AJ admired himself in the mirrored facade. But we weren’t done yet. We took a short stroll down to the Comm Ave mall to finish the session with a bit of old Boston greenery!

True story - I photographed an awesome wedding a couple years ago in Boston. Early on in the day, I experienced a small world moment when I met the bride’s brother. Seems we were neighbors, and our kids went to preschool together! Fast forward a few years, and that bride had a little one of her own. So last week we got Cael, Mya and Kali all together at Dean Park in Shrewsbury, MA. What happened next was the rare phenomenon known as a cousin cuteness overload!

At the park, we all headed immediately to the pond, where the fall leaves were in full display. Benches were requested, so we headed to a rustic number in a shady spot on the shore. It was the perfect place to start, with the little ones busting out their best smiles right away. From there we moved right down by the pond, where Kali could stretch out on her blanket, and Mya had some room to run! I pride myself on picking great locations, but Cael and Mya trumped me when they found the perfect climbing…errr posing rock. A walk down a short trail led us to a cool old stone building, where all three kids had a moment in the limelight. By that point we were ready for a change of venue, so we took the short drive back to Cael & Mya’s house, where the kids changed into awesome Christmas Card outfits, and proved that they had more cuteness left to serve!

If you’re gonna get married on a beautiful, crisp, fall day in New England, Willowdale Estate in Topsfield, MA is the place to be! And Amy and Dave were in on the secret, when they scheduled their perfect fall wedding.

I arrived at the Doubletree in Danvers, MA, Amy and her ladies were in full preparatory swing, grabbing a bite of lunch while the hair stylist finished working her magic. Before long we were all sneaking out the back door to avoid being seen by any guests that were hanging around the lobby. A yellow school bus was waiting outside, and took them to Willowdale in style. The guys were close on their heels, and the soon to be bride and groom took a few minutes to hang out together before all of the guests started to arrive…and I got to hang out with them and take photos.

As the sun began to set over the manor house, the guests filed into the courtyard to take part in the happy occasion. The last rays of the sun caught Amy perfectly as she was escorted down the aisle to husband in waiting. In a joyous and emotional ceremony, Amy and Dave were wed, and walked down the aisle together to the waiting arms of their families. While everyone was gathered, we quickly made it through the family photos, then the happy couple joined their guests for the end of the cocktail hour. And that was only the beginning of the party! Amy and Dave celebrated with their guests well into the night.

Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley MA proved to be the perfect place to meet Charlie and his family on a crisp fall morning last week to celebrate his reaching the one year milestone with a family photo session. It was great to meet Charlie and see his parents Julie & Kevin again for the first time since I photographed their wedding in 2010.

We began the day at a gnarled old tree where Charlie was more than happy to sit among the roots, and throw cute looks our way. From there we wandered down to the mansion, first taking a few minutes to play in the tall grass behind the mansion (where Charlie sampled the flavors). Then it was a short walk to the front of the mansion where the beautiful marble floors, and old ornate fences provided the perfect backdrop to get the family together for a few photos. Charlie was ready by this time for a walk in the woods with Mom and Dad, and a few Dad tosses. Since it was a fall photo session, our next stop was a big pile of fallen leaves, where Charlie showed his happiness with the season, despite the wet ground. With all of those adventures accomplished, Charlie was ready for his reward - a long play in the sandbox full of toys!

When Kelly and Bryan contacted me to schedule their engagement portrait session, they said they wanted a location like the Boston Public Gardens, but with a great view of the Boston skyline. And I knew just the place: Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, MA fit the description perfectly!

Since it had been a sunny day, I was really hoping to capture the fading rays of the sun on the couple and the cityscape. Mother Nature had other ideas, however, and decided to roll in a bank of clouds to diffuse the sun. Being the father of a Cub Scout, I was ready for it, breaking out my portable sun to light the couple! Once we got the all important skyline shot, we were free to wander around the park and sample its early fall goodness. We found a tree that just couldn’t wait for the other trees to change color and showed its orange hues early. Then we wandered down to the lake, where the gazebo and willow trees beckoned. Next we wandered through a field of flowers and tall reeds on our way to the final destination: the old manor house turned car museum. The exterior was just right for the “Hollywood lift” that Bryan had planned. The proprietors were even nice enough to leave a few classic cars parked outside to finish the session in style!

An awesome photo shoot on a beautiful fall day in a quaint New England town is the perfect way to start the week. And that’s just how my week started when I met Olivia and her Mom in Sutton MA for her high school senior portraits.

We started the session just down the road from Olivia’s home, where an old schoolhouse sat nestled along a scenic road across from a pond fringed by beautiful fall foliage. If that last sentence seems chock full of great locations - the reality was even better, and we took advantage of them all. We started out lakeside, using the foliage to frame the photos, as barefoot Olivia braved the pine needles and avoided the patches of poison ivy. Moving across the street, we incorporated the historic schoolhouse building into the next series. Then we hopped into the car and headed into downtown Sutton. All day I’d been seeing these little blue flowers on the side of the road and wanting to incorporate them into a shot. Downtown we hit the jackpot when we found an entire field of them. Again, Olivia showed her bravery, wading into the flowers and the swarms of bees that were busy gathering pollen before their winter rest. The absence of shoes came in handy, however, when we headed over to an awesome patch of cattails. In my excitement, I forgot that cattails grow in marshes!

I know that if you live in Massachusetts, you can’t remember the last time it wasn’t raining, but I can pinpoint the exact time on Tuesday morning! That’s when I met Colton and his parents at borderlands State Park in Easton, MA, for a portrait session with the happy 10 month old.

I photographed the wedding of Colton’s parents a few years ago, and they kney what would get me excited about a location, picking Easton State Park, and telling me “There are two creepy shacks and an old mansion there”. And they spoke true! In fact, we started at the mansion, where the remnants of the old landscaping provided perfect places to plop the young man. It didn’t take him long to get in the swing of things and flash his best smiles whether we asked him to sit on a rock, a patch of high grass,or a bed of ferns. We’d only scratched the surface of all of the great spots around the mansion, but we decided to change it up a bit, and headed down to one of the aforementioned creepy shacks. On the way we found a cool pile of logs that Colton was more than happy to cruise along in. After a few family photos on the porch of creepy shack #1, we headed down to the waterfront for a proper family portrait. Colton’s smile and enthusiasm never faded even as the sunlight did!